Tues 12 Dec 2006

Paedophiles and the Press

David Starkey is joined by Greg Dyke (former DG of the BBC), columnists Kelvin Mackenzie and Marina Hyde.

Last night an early release paedophile was moved from his Somerset home after an angry mob surrounded his house. His identity and whereabouts had been published in the 'News of The World'. Recently, a 'Sun' Editorial called for the sacking of a Chief Constable for suggesting that men who have sex with 13-15 year olds should not be classed as paedophiles.

We ask:
- Are newspapers effectively inciting a riot by 'naming and shaming' paedophiles?
- Does publishing this information do anything to help local families and children, or simply create a climate of hysteria and drive paedophiles underground? -
- Is our attitude towards paedophiles affected by the way newspapers write about them, and is this preventing a measured debate about how to deal with the problem?